‘Are you all right?’ asked Denser.
‘I think,’ said Ilkar, ‘that I’ll take that drink sitting here.’
Denser chuckled and ambled over to the kitchen door. He leaned through it.
‘Talan? Stop chopping and bring a coffee through. There’s someone you’d like to talk to.’
There was the clatter of a knife on a hard surface, a few footsteps and then Talan loped in, spilling coffee as he came.
‘Ilkar!’ He practically threw the mug into the elf’s hands. ‘You don’t know how good you look!’
‘Steady,’ grinned Ilkar. ‘Thanks for this. How’s everything?’
Talan became solemn. ‘I conducted Richmond’s Vigil alone. He’s buried in the garden near the stables.’
Ilkar nodded, sipped from his mug. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘So am I.’
‘And what about him?’ Ilkar inclined his head in Hirad’s direction.
Talan sat on the bed next to him. ‘I’ve got to tell you, it was amazing,’ he said, brightening a little. ‘The woman, Erienne, she’s sleeping I think. Denser said she used a BodyCast, is it?’ Ilkar nodded. ‘All over him. I could feel it, a deep warmth. It shifted as she moved her hands, it went in his mouth, his ears, his nose . . . she was with him for hours.’
Ilkar nodded again, glanced up at Denser.
‘BodyCast, eh?’
‘Textbook preparation. She’s good, Ilkar. Powerful. From what Thraun said, she used an IceWind too.’ Denser raised his eyebrows, drained his mug and wandered into the kitchen for a refill.
Talan leaned in closer. ‘And he now commands my complete admiration.’
‘Oh?’ Ilkar bridled in spite of himself; an inbred reaction.
‘Erienne rested after the BodyCast. Then she used another spell to finish the job and make Hirad sleep. Then she rested again before seeing to Denser. Two days in all. He just sat there and kept you alive. Said hardly anything. Just ate a little, drank a little.’
‘I appreciate the sacrifice he had to make,’ said Ilkar, yet he had been unaware of the extent of Denser’s effort and was reeling inside.
‘They’d broken his jaw, fractured his cheeks, smashed his nose, broken most of his fingers and toes and cracked half a dozen ribs. He must have been in total agony the whole time. You owe him.’ Talan shook his head. Ilkar gaped. The door opened and Denser walked back in. He smiled, and it was then that Ilkar noticed the cat at his feet.
‘It is a debt I will never call in,’ said Denser. ‘It is merely what had to be done.’
‘Whatever you say,’ said Ilkar. ‘I’m lost for words of thanks.’
‘You are alive and talking, Julatsan, that is thanks enough.’ Embarrassed, Denser stalked to the other doors, heading for the hallway, his cat in close attendance.
Later that day, standing one to either side of him, Ilkar and Talan helped Hirad to his feet. The barbarian was ready for the pain and nausea that swept his body as the newly knit muscles of his stomach strained and protested. Another WarmHeal, Erienne said, and he’d be fit to ride tomorrow - three days after he’d entered the castle on the crest of a Rage.
He gazed down at Richmond’s grave. The Raven symbol still scorched proud on the packed earth. His feelings were mixed but dominated by one of inevitability. Ras, Sirendor, The Unknown, Richmond. Had The Raven died with them? Only he, Talan and Ilkar were left and he questioned whether that was enough. He decided that while any of the founder members lived, it was. They had always expected to evolve as men died, or left, and others joined. It was an insult to the memories of those who had gone to let The Raven pass into history.
But who would be next to die? Clearly, it should have been him, and the stories of his salvation by the three mages had turned his view of their whole order in general and Denser in particular. He still didn’t trust the man further than he could spit, but he had to admire his fortitude and sheer determination. Denser also had his gratitude - so did Erienne, but she wouldn’t catch his eye, far less speak to him.
He looked across at her, kneeling, as through almost her every waking hour since their burials, at the graves of her family. That of Alun, Erienne ignored, but those of her sons commanded her unswerving attention. He felt for her but knew he could never articulate how, because she would not listen.
And here, standing by him, was the man for whom no level of admiration could ever be enough. Ilkar would have died with him - indeed, had chosen to do so, had Erienne not healed them both. Loyalty in battle he could readily understand but this was something more. He felt a lump in his throat, swallowed it away and crushed Ilkar to him with the arm slung round the mage’s shoulder for support.
‘We all set?’
Ilkar nodded. ‘We’ve enough fit horses, including all of our own, the bodies are all destroyed and Will has rigged the castle. He’s a clever bastard, I’ll give him that.’
‘Very effective,’ agreed Talan.
Will, in response to Hirad’s desire to see the castle razed to the ground, had devised a way of doing so while allowing them to be half a day’s ride away when it happened.
‘Better your enemies are attracted to the beacon when you’re not there,’ he’d said.
And now, all but the kitchens and banqueting room, where they’d spent so much time, were no-go areas. Oil soaked drapes, rugs, furnishings, books and timbers. Lines of oil criss-crossed the castle from top to bottom, piles of wood and kindling were placed in strategic areas and, where Will wanted flash flame - in the towers and the entrance hall - mountains of dry flour sat awaiting ignition.
All but Hirad and Erienne had worked to his direction while he had either patrolled the castle, ensuring all was laid to his exact specification, or sat laboriously testing myriad styles of long-burn fuse. Rope, oil and tar were mixed in minutely changing quantities then set alight to be timed for their burn by the beating of Will’s heart. At last, satisfied, he had manufactured yards of a material about as thick as his thumb and placed one upstairs and one down.
‘All that’s left is to saddle up and pack the horses and prime the last couple of rooms tomorrow morning. Will and Thraun will light the fuses and then we’re away.’
‘Good. I know Denser’s anxious about the time we’ve lost,’ said Hirad.
‘He’s not the only one,’ returned Ilkar.
‘And how’s she reacted to us travelling to Dordover to plunder one of her ancient’s tombs?’
Ilkar smiled. ‘Good question. All I can say is that whatever deal it was they struck, it’s important enough to her not to betray us.’ He paused, reflecting. ‘I don’t know. She knows a good deal about Dawnthief and she certainly believes Denser.’
‘And the others?’ said Hirad.
Ilkar shrugged. ‘They are good-quality people, Hirad. Thraun is a born swordsman. Erienne is a well-known magical talent, Jandyr gives us the bowman we’ve always wanted, and Will, well, he’s quick and clever. They balance the team, Talan and I swore them into the Code and, in your absence, accepted them into The Raven. I know it’s not how we really do things but we haven’t the time to assess them in any more action and we need to know that they’ll follow you without question. I’m confident they will. Talan?’
‘I agree.’ Talan nodded, though his eyes were distant. ‘Your only doubt is Will, but I think Thraun can keep him under control. Erienne’s grief might make her unpredictable, too. Watch out for that.’
‘They’ve signed the current job contract and they know what they’re getting themselves into,’ continued Ilkar. ‘Denser has told them the whole gory story and they didn’t find it too hard to accept. It’s the choice we were never allowed to make, isn’t it? They survive, they’re rich; if not, well, the money’s not important then, is it?’
Hirad raised his eyebrows. ‘True enough.’ He felt tired. ‘I think I’d better amble back inside, lie down for a while.’